Common Name: Keelback Snake and Vine SnakeScientific Name: Xenochrophis and AhaetullaProtected Status: CITES App. III Xenochrophis piscator (India)Laboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? In many parts of Asia, it is believed that placing snakes in rice wine provides medicinal benefits. Some of the snakes used are rare and endangered.

Credit: USFWS.

Junglefowl Feathers

Common Name: Grey JunglefowlScientific Name: Gallus sonneratiiProtected Status: CITES – App. IILaboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? Feathers of the Grey Junglefowl are popular in fly-tying. Feathers from documented captive birds may be sold for this purpose, but not feathers from wild Grey Junglefowl.

Common Name: Grizzly or Brown BearScientific Name:Ursus arctosProtected Status: U.S. ESA – Endangered as U. arctos pruinosus, as U. arctos in Mexico, and as U. a.arctos in Italy. Threatened as U.a.horribilis in the Lower 48 States except where listed as Experimental Non-Essential. CITES — App.I as U. arctos (Mexico, Bhutan, China, and Mongolia pops.) and as U. a.isabellinus; otherwise App.II. Laboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? Carnivores, like bears, have conical canine teeth; the gap between the sharp canine tooth and the next tooth is called a diastema.

Credit: USFWS.

Bear Teeth

Common Name: Grizzly or Brown BearScientific Name:Ursus arctosProtected Status: U.S. ESA – Endangered as U. arctos pruinosus, as U. arctos in Mexico, and as U. a.arctos in Italy. Threatened as U.a.horribilis in the Lower 48 States except where listed as Experimental Non-Essential. CITES — App.I as U. arctos (Mexico, Bhutan, China, and Mongolia pops.) and as U. a.isabellinus; otherwise App.II. Laboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? Measuring the length of the last upper cheektooth is useful in distinguishing black bear from grizzly bear skulls.

Credit: USFWS.

Necklace with claws and bones of bear

Common Name: Grizzly or Brown BearScientific Name: Ursus arctosProtected Status: U.S. ESA – Endangered as U. arctos pruinosus, as U. arctos in Mexico, and as U. a.arctos in Italy. Threatened as U.a.horribilis in the Lower 48 States except where listed as Experimental Non-Essential. CITES — App.I as U. arctos (Mexico, Bhutan, China, and Mongolia pops.) and as U. a.isabellinus; otherwise App.II. Laboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? This image shows parts of toe bones of a grizzly bear’s paw; the small claw in the lower front is from a porcupine. Also adorning the necklace are seeds and vertebrae of snake.

Credit: USFWS.

Horns of Tibetan Antelope

Common Name: Tibetan AntelopeScientific Name: Pantholops hodgsonii
Protected Status: U.S. ESA – Endangered; CITES – App. ILaboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? Like many antelope, goats, sheep, and cattle, the horns of the chiru or Tibetan antelope have raised ridges, rings, or crenulations which are useful in distinguishing the different species in the Order Artiodactyla.

Credit: USFWS.

Microscopic Hair Comparison

Common Name: Two-toed Sloth Scientific Name: Choloepus sp.Protected Status: CITES—App. III (Costa Rica) as C. hoffmanniLaboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? Because of their rain forest environment, sloths can grow a form of algae on their hair, giving it a greenish appearance.

Credit: USFWS.

Hair Micrograph

Common Name: White-tailed or Black-tailed deerScientific Name:Odocoileus virginianus or O. hemionusProtected Status: Hunting is regulated by each state.Laboratory Section: Morphology What’s the Story? Deer hair is not hollow. The inside of deer hair is composed of tightly packed cells which trap air and provide insulation against cold and heat.

Credit: USFWS.

Crocodile Teeth

Common Name: Nile CrocodileScientific Name:Crocodylus niloticusProtected Status: U.S. ESA – Threatened; CITES App. I or II depending on locality.Laboratory Section: MorphologyWhat’s the Story? Crocodile teeth are often used to make jewelry (such as necklaces) and sold to tourists in the wildlife trade.